A grin spread over his face. “I told you, Gemma Abbott, I’m going to marry you one day, so of course I’m with you.”
Chapter 2
FaceTime was the perfect invention. Kate’s pretty face with her dark fuzzy hair was smiling up at me as I shoved a handful of fries into my mouth.
Tutting, she shook her head and rubbed her cheek. “I managed to hear the conversation between Archie Roberts and Xvair Harvey. He was asking what they had done with Brianna. No...” She quickly glanced up, away from the phone. “... That’s my brownie, Jake. If you dare eat it, I’ll fry your brain.”
Glancing up at Dave who slurped on a milkshake, I pointed at the notepad he was currently ignoring. I wanted him to take notes from what Kate was saying. Apparently, because I was no longer on the case, Dave refused to do as I asked. That wouldn’t last long.
“Anyway,” Kate said, bringing her attention back to me. “It sounded like Archie had arranged a meeting between Lucien and Brianna. I don’t think he knew that the witch would abduct her. He sounded worried on the phone.”
“Is there anything else I need to know?”
Gritting her teeth, Kate sucked in a breath and shook her head. “I’m sorry, I’ve been ordered not to tell you anything. I’ve just told you way too much as it is.”
My instant retort was sucked back before I hurt Kate’s feelings. It wasn’t her fault that my mother was the bitchiest bitch from Hell. Okay, that was a bit harsh considering she was genuinely trying to protect me from the man who wanted me to breed. However, the lack of gun on my hip and the absence of my badge made me feel a little grouchy to say the least.
“It’s fine,” I lied. “Keep Dave updated, I’m going to steal him for an hour.”
Nodding, Kate glanced up from the phone again. “My brownie is the only thing that allows me to kick arse all day!” Looking down at me, she wagged her finger at the screen. “I must go, Jake is about to get his arse kicked.”
Not waiting for me to say goodbye, the seer hung up, leaving me hanging.
Dave reached for my lonely burger, retreating when I batted his hand away.
“Did you just hear what was about to happen to Jake? The same thing will happen to you if you dare take my burger. I need fuel.”
Scratching the stubble on his jaw, Dave stretched his mouth open and yawned. “You’re stealing me for an hour? I take it we’re going to Brianna’s house?”
Taking a bite of my burger, I savoured the flavour as I gave my partner a thumbs up. My mother may have taken me off the case, but in reality, she probably knew that I wasn’t going anywhere. There was no way I could search for Brianna at the same time as avoiding Xvair Harvey.
“Well then,” Dave said, getting up from his seat. “We’d better hurry. I’ve got the tech guy coming to upgrade my pretty computer later.”
Really? Was my partner more concerned about his technology than finding my friend? Did he need reminding that human life was more important? Well, vampire life, but that was neither here nor there.
“I’m ready.”
Shoving the last of my burger into my mouth, I grabbed Dave’s hand and used him as leverage to stand. If I wanted to take down Xvair at the same time as rescuing Brianna, I would have to pretend that I was listening to my mother’s command.
“The ancestors allowed me to keep the magic for now. However, I’m still dead.” Taking Dave’s hand, I indicated that he could take some of my magic.
The illusionist witch smiled as heat pooled between our palms. Having the witch beside me while I searched for my friend gave me comfort.
Raising my eyebrows, I gestured at him. He brushed his hands against his suit jacket, ridding them of the grease from his own burger. “Oh, so you want me to transport us to Brianna’s house? I see how this is.”
About to reply, I squeaked as Dave cast a spell that whisked us away, landing us outside my friend’s house.
The pretty suburban street was lined with trees growing out of the pavement. The Victorian townhouses rose high above us, reaching for the cloudy grey sky.
“This is work mode,” I said to Dave, who was playing with his phone. “We need to be on guard. If someone kidnapped Brianna from her home-”
“It sounds like Archie took her to the Harveys. I don’t think anyone kidnapped her.”
Tucking his phone away, Dave ran a hand over his man bun before taking his gun out from under his jacket. His frame crouched stealthily as he started walking towards the nearest iron gate.
“It’s across the road, numpty,” I muttered, leaving him as I trotted to the other side of the street.
The gate that led to Brianna’s home was open. The vampire often didn’t bother to close it, too lazy to worry about such things. I had been so out of touch with her recently, I still didn’t know how her love life was going.
“You could have told me,” Dave groaned as he joined me on the bottom step.
My gaze traced the red tiled steps that led up to the door. There was no sign of struggle anywhere, but the vampires were clever. They knew how to be careful with a target. If Archie Roberts had taken Brianna against her will, surely there would be a clue somewhere in the house.
Going to the door, I tried the handle. Tingles slipped down my spine as the door opened freely, no lock barring my way. Brianna might have been careless but leaving a door unlocked was suspicious. Had someone taken her?
“Be careful.” Dave pushed me to the side, moving in front of me as we went into
